


House of Memories

by chancellorxofxtrash



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Character Study, Guilt, Implied Sexual Content, Lightning is a Mess, M/M, Mind Manipulation, Post-Canon, VrainsRarepairs2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:41:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22029493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chancellorxofxtrash/pseuds/chancellorxofxtrash
Summary: Lightning had lived billions of possibilities. It was hard to tell which one was coming true.
Relationships: Lightning/Windy (Yu-Gi-Oh)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 15
Collections: VRAINS Rarepairs 2019!





	House of Memories

**Author's Note:**

> Written for VRAINS Rarepair Week 2019
> 
> Day 1: Time/Limits

Truth to be told - he always knew things ending up the way they did was a distinct possibility.

Maybe not  _ always _ , but definitely for a long time.

He saw billions of possibilities, things playing out in many, many different ways. Keeping track of them was not easy - not even for the Light Ignis, but he managed better than others would have.

Lightning. That is the name they gave him.

It felt odd, having a  _ name.  _ Names were odd things, after all - something people could call you, something that people think of when they mention it. Lightning was a name Ai gave him and Ai had a name that Playmaker gave him. Playmaker had his real name, probably from his parents, and - well, the name  _ Playmaker,  _ because the digital world is different, and operates on different rules.

Their creator did not give them names. He called them by their attribute.

A designation.

Light Ignis.

They  _ had  _ words in their own language they called each other, but they were not easily translatable to human tongues. Perhaps  _ Light Ignis  _ was the closest to that either way, even if not quite.

It was odd, he supposed, as even though he had a name now, apparently, it was still related to his attribute - then again, so did most of them. (Except for Ai, but Ai was an exception in other aspects as well.)

Lightning. A naturally occurring electrostatic discharge in which two electrically charged regions in the atmosphere or ground temporarily equalize themselves, causing an instantaneous release of energy.

It was a quick, probably hastily given name, and Lightning figured it worked as a name just fine. He had a Light attribute, and he was quick - made sense that Ai would associate to the phenomena. At first, it did not matter much to Lightning - it was an easy way for the others to refer to him, but it did not mean much to him. He was the Light Ignis, and this name basically meant the same, so in the end, it did not matter.

The more time passed and the more he was thinking about it, the more fitting it was.

Humanity and AIs were like two electrically charged sides, and eventually there would be a discharge.

Lightning figured that if  _ he  _ had to be said discharge, then so be it.

Lightning in nature cause a great deal of electric and magnetic forces, causing severe damages, both to living organisms and not.

But nature always worked that way - destruction and reconstruction are part of nature.

Lightning himself was not natural, though. He was built from the grandeurs of one man and his team, who then recoiled in horror, like a modern Victor Frankenstein.

He was not natural, but even then, he was part of the world. And unlike humans, he  _ knew  _ the purpose he was built for, the purpose that led to his creation. Humans went along asking their own gods, and asking philosophical questions over the meaning of their existence.

Lightning did not need to do that. He knew exactly what was he there for.

And unlike humans, he knew exactly he would not be able to do it.

That did not mean he would give up, though.

~*~

Seeing and living those simulations meant that things should not have been that surprising, but even for someone like him, that large quantity of data was hard to manage and keep track of. It was clearly a failure with the capabilities of all Ignis as a whole (that is why he needed someone who  _ can  _ do more), but it didn’t mean he forgot  _ everything. _

He wouldn’t remember tiny details, like who would play what card in a duel. He wouldn’t remember basic, day-to-day stuff.

He wouldn’t recall why would the Wind Ignis end up visiting him more and more, but it wasn’t surprising either. He wouldn’t recall when and how did their relationship  _ shift  _ into something more, but…

But he was aware it was a possibility. That was something he had seen in a lot of the simulations. And in all the simulations it was… pleasant.

The Wind Ignis seemed fickle in his interests, moving quickly from area to area, bothering anyone he could. Logic would dictate he would get bored from  _ this  _ as well, whatever  _ this  _ was.

But he wasn’t.

Especially after the Hanoi attacked them, and it was just them, all locked away. Him alone with his thoughts, with the other four even more lost than before, and they needed  _ his  _ help.

Not all of them would say it, and the Water Ignis was better at being comforting than he was. He was better at telling them what to do and keep them focused, while she was better at calming their nerves.

“Hey, you think the Dark Ignis will come back?”

“Yes.”

“Wow. You trust him a lot. He never took anything seriously, why do you think he would take this seriously? Maybe he will get bored and lazy and leave us here.”

He thought of the Dark Ignis… Ai, he remembered. That was the name he had in almost all of the simulations. There was a big probability he would be called that now as well.

“No, I am certain he will take steps. The question is what will we do  _ after. _ ”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

He could have told him. He was certain there were some simulations, some timelines where he did.

He was not sure how did they all end. Hard to keep track of them.

“Are you sure that is what you want to talk about?”

“Hmmm, on a second thought, no that is not at all what I want to talk about. I would prefer not to talk at all. Hey, why were we even talking in the first place? I don’t eve--- hmhphph.”

Sometimes the only way to shut the Wind Ignis was, to completely wrap a tendril around his mouth.

Then again, sometimes it wasn’t even possible at all.

It was… a good diversion.

When the Wind Ignis was around, all wrapped around him, he  _ knew  _ how to make the thoughts in the Light Ignis’ head go away. When he was there, Lightning was  _ not  _ worrying. He wasn’t burdened with the future and survival of the Ignis, and needing to fulfill their purpose. The Wind Ignis had his ways to make him forget  _ everything. _

Temporarily at least.

~*~

When they all fled Cyberse, the Wind Ignis was the first one he looked for.

It was purely for a pragmatic purpose - in many different simulations, he had seen the Wind Ignis on his side. Not to mention that he was the best at controlling the datastorm, which was vital, no matter how they are going to proceed. He will need his powers for offense and defense alike, and he will need his duelling abilities.

It was just purely tactical reasons.

Nothing else.

Things were blurry about most things in his memories, but he was positive that the Wind Ignis agreed to come with him in multiple versions. Agreed to work with him.

And even when he did not, he was still there.

The Wind Ignis was pretty much always on his side, and he had no idea which scenario was playing out right now, so many variations, so many…

The Wind Ignis stepped away, eyes widening.

“...why…? Why would you want to, I mean… Yeah the Hanoi is a bit of a shit, but it doesn’t mean anyone is, right? I mean statistically…”

“Your Origin, you told me you met him,” He pressed, and the Wind Ignis recoiled a bit. “He did not want anything to do with you either.”

“Well… not wanting to hang out with me is different than you know. Wanting to kill us all. I think everything will be fine if we just avoid each other, you know? I leave him alone, he leaves me alone, we both live our best lives.”

“You can’t avoid the whole humanity, Wind Ignis. There will always be humans who won’t be content with that. Just like the Hanoi came after us. We need to figure something out, to be able to fulfill our purpose.”

“But…” The Wind Ignis trailed off. “The one who created us for a purpose, he is the one who tried to kill us. So maybe we can just… figure it out for ourselves? You know, Light Ignis, just… screw that guy? He tried to get us eaten by a dragon, so why should we care about what he wanted us to do?”

Not caring about his purpose…

Lightning closed his eyes.

Then opened them.

“We are going to do this together, Wind Ignis.”

~*~

He did not change a lot in him - Windy, that was the name he picked for himself. He just simply made him hate humans. That’s all that he did.

So it was fine.

He was still himself - fast talking, gleeful, with an odd sense of humour. Just because he hated humans now and maybe a bit more cruel, it was fine, right?

It was fine.

Windy was still wrapped around him a lot, laughing, and it was still the only time Lightning could  _ stop  _ thinking just a bit.

He remembered the simulations mostly - but it was hard to make sure which one he was actually  _ living  _ this time. So he just had to make the best decisions he could. And then it will be fine.

All of them will be one together, and then Windy’s elevated bloodlust won’t be a trouble at all either.

It was fine even when they lost Earth, and Windy and Aqua, one by one all of them. It will be fine. Their data will be one in Bohman forever.

Everything will work out. He was certain he made the best decisions, even if he couldn’t quite  _ remember.  _ He was still  _ sure. _

He was sure when he took Bohman’s hand, when Ai showed up, it was all fine.

~*~

~*~

The simulations only went up until Lightning’s death.

Well. The ones that ended with him dying. He was certain there were ones where he succeeded.

Right?

There had to be. There had to be ones where he succeeded.

He was antsy, fidgeting in the duel disk he was locked into, Jin Kusanagi’s dark eyes focused on him.

“You look nervous.”

“I am not.”

“Liar.”

Jin Kusanagi’s voice was blunt, as he leant back, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

“Never saw you this nervous before.”

“I do not understand why you brought me back.”

Jin shrugged.

“Answers. Second chances. To watch you squirm. Take your pick.”

His voice was almost amused, and Lightning frowned.

“I do not see why is this amusing to you.”

“You dragged me after you like a ragdoll. I can get some enjoyment about you being lost.”

“Lost? What makes you think I am lost?”

“You said you do not understand this. Which means you did not see this coming,” Jin grinned. “You never checked in the simulations what happens after you die, right?”

Lightning was quiet, and Jin laughed.

“That is grand. Oh, by the way don’t even  _ think of it,”  _ Jin’s grin was even wider than before, like he was living the time of his life. “You aren’t gonna mess everything up again with your panicky bad decisions.”

“They were no--”

“Shut it.”

There was really no arguing with Jin Kusanagi.

Part of Lightning did figure it made sense - he himself was created from Jin’s stubbornness after all.

~*~

The others visited him.

All of them got themselves SOLtiS bodies, which were convenient for moving around in the real world - not like Lightning moved far from the hot dog truck.

That is where the others came, one by one.

Ai was basically there from the beginning - endless energy, endless blabbering on. Like nothing ever went wrong. Like they were never opposing each other.

The next was Aqua, her eyes firmly focused on Lightning, pretty much  _ judging  _ him when she visited. Her voice firm but open to listening to his words, and she left after gently squeezing his hand, and promised to visit more when she left.

Next time Aqua came, Earth came along, obviously trusting her judgement fully.

Flame was next, keeping his distance.

“I am not sure I trust you,” Flame said honestly, crossing his arms in front of his chest, his human face in a frown. “But if the others are willing to give you a chance so do I.”

“How considerate.”

“Shut up. This is the best you can get.”

Lightning knew it perfectly.

There was one who did not show up.

Oh, he knew he was around. He was around, occasionally he saw glimpses of him, a flash of green, doing his own things. Fast as the wind he was so proud of controlling. He saw him a lot through the screens in the hot dog truck - running around, duelling random people in Link VRAINS, taking delight in winning against most of them. Not many duelists could keep up with the Ignis, after all, and Windy was always very good at it.

He did not visit Lightning.

~*~

“You could reach out to him as well, you know.”

“And say what?”

“Well geez, Lightning, I don’t know. Maybe say that you are sorry.”

“Should I say that?”

“Don’t know. Are you sorry?”

Guilt was an odd thing.

Lightning was not sure what he felt was that - emotions were odd and distant, and yet they had a tangible effect on him, which were… most inconvenient.

“I understand I made… mistakes.”

Jin laughed out loud, throwing his head back.

“If you tell that to him  _ that  _ way, he might strangle you.”

“...so tell me. How am I supposed to tell him?”

“You read all those books. Maybe you can get an idea of them.”

“I don’t read  _ those  _ kind of books.”

“Well, maybe you  _ should.  _ You keep checking on him. It is driving  _ me  _ mad.”

~*~

Lightning still did not seek him out.

But then one day, Windy showed up, when Lightning as alone, and just walked into the hot dog truck, a glare in his single, purple eye.

“You do not need an eyepatch in a SOLtiS body, why do you wear one?”

“Because fuck you that’s why.”

His voice was sharp, as he glared at Lightning, arms crossed in front of his chest.

Waiting.

Lightning also was quiet, also waiting.

“...so why are you here?”

“Oh, shut up! Shouldn’t you tell me something?” Windy snapped, stepping closer, pointing an accusatory finger at Lightning. “You should tell me you are sorry and I should be yelling at you. Don’t you know how this goes?!”

“No. No, I don’t. Is that what you want?”

“Yes! Grovel a bit, maybe!”

He was fuming, obviously, and Lightning stood there for a few moments.

Then he took a deep breath, closing his eyes a bit before opening them and reciting the words.

“If you wish, I can explain to you the reasons for my actions. If, in the explanation of them, which is due to myself, I am under the necessity of relating feelings which may be offensive to yours, I can only say that I am sorry. The necessity should be obeyed if you have a need for it, and further apology would be absurd.”

Silence.

Windy’s eye widened.

“Lightning, the fuck was that?”

“I am not good at apologies,” Lightning shook his head a bit. “So Jin told me to read books to get some sort of idea how to. So I read this one called Pride and Prejudice. What do you think?”

“What do I--- you  _ dick! _ ”

Windy shrieked, stepping closer, and just grabbed Lightning’s shirt, shaking him forcefully.

Lightning let him, not resisting at all.

“You think that will just fix everything?!” Windy’s eye was obviously swelling up with tears. “You think you can just read some sappy novels and everything is magically fixed? You think that… everything you have done… what you did to me, what you made me do, I…”

His voice broke, and Lightning raised a hand, wiping his tears away without a word.

And Windy broke down in sobs, burying his face into Lightning’s chest, and Lightning found himself putting his arms around him. What should he do? Pat his back? Rub his back?

He had no idea, so he just held him there, until the sobs calmed down, and Windy still stood there, in his arms.

“...do you hate me, Windy?”

“Things would be much easier if I could. Then I wouldn’t have come here. You asshole. But it seems like you got under my skin more than one way.”

“...I’m sorry.”

“See? That almost sounded sincere.”

“Almost?”

“Do you really regret it?”

“I wish you would have been on my side willingly. I believed I did everything for the benefit of all of us.”

“...there you have it. That is the real Lightning.”

Was that?

Lightning was not sure, but Windy sounded convinced.

And then Windy pulled himself away, his face still tear-soaked, but he was trying his best to grin.

“And don’t think I’m gonna ignore the fact that you read a sappy romance novel trying to figure out how to say sorry.”

“...it was Jin’s idea.”

“You still did it. I am never letting you live that down. Never. But tell me - did that work in the book?”

“...actually yes. Yes it did. And the one who wrote the letter and the one who read it, they get together in the end.”

“Smooth. You are still a dick.”

Lightning could not reply, because Windy stood on their tiptoes, pressing their lips together.

_ Kissing  _ like this was something entirely new. Something they didn’t quite experience back in the virtual world, not in this way, and Lightning figured it was not unpleasant at all.

And Windy’s closeness always had an effect on Lightning that made him stop thinking.

Just for a little bit, at least.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
